


Stream

by rathernotmyname



Series: Fictober! 2020 [14]
Category: Papillon (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Fictober! Day 14, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I Can't Write Smut So I Didn't, I'm Sorry, M/M, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28052037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rathernotmyname/pseuds/rathernotmyname
Summary: After five years of solitary, Papillon and Louis reunite on Devil's Island. There will be no more reunions after.Or:Everything turns out okay, just this once.
Relationships: Henri "Papillon" Charriere/Louis Dega
Series: Fictober! 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050200
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Stream

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note:  
> I DO NOT CONSENT TO MY WORK BEING HOSTED OR REPOSTED ON ANY UNOFFICIAL APPS OR WEBSITES OTHER THAN ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN WITHOUT MY APPROVAL, PARTICULARLY APPS WITH AD REVENUE AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES.

The sunrises on Devil’s Island are gentle in a way that Papillon can’t really put into words. 

Maybe it’s because there are no rules here, no duties, no forced labour. Only lonely men with limited space, acting like a dysfunctional village community. 

He sees a few that kill themselves shorty after arriving, others have lost their mind long ago, and some, like Louis Dega, have found their peace here, away from the whistles and whips and angry fellow prisoners.

And Papillon? He is different from all of them. Never broken, to the disgruntlement of the warden, he looks forward to the day he can finally leave French-Guiana behind for good.

In a twisted kind of way, Dega is holding him back.

“There’s no way off this island, Papi,” he says while feeding his chickens, limping heavily. 

“On the contrary, there are infinite ways.” 

Dega straightens and fixes questioning eyes on his friend. “Pray tell.”

“It’s fairly round, isn’t it? A circle. So you have infinite ways to escape.”

“It’s obvious that neither of your parents was a mathematics teacher,” Dega snorts, turning back to the clutter of hens that hectically peck at their breakfast.

Papi smiles, but he doesn’t speak. 

Dega’s head twitches up. “You’re serious,” he says.

A shrug. Dega puts the bucket of chicken feed onto a low wall and limps closer, face suddenly distorted with helpless anger.

“Turn around and look, Papi. Do you see what I see? Because I see cliffs, everywhere. If you jump down, you’re going to die,” he snaps.

Papi doesn’t reply.

“Do you hear me?” Dega hisses, grabbing fistfuls of Papi’s collar in weathered hands. “You will _die_ , Papi. I didn’t wait for you for so long only for you to-” 

He stops short, blowing out a breath that sounds as if someone punched it out of him, lets go of Papi’s shirt and rips his glasses off his face, plopping down to sit on the wall.

“I don’t die so easily,” Papi says, a little off kilter by Dega’s sudden fit of rage. “You out of anyone should know that. And I’m not ready to give up yet.”

He turns to face Dega and is a little taken aback when he notices that he is crying, low, strangled sobs of utter misery, a hand pressed to his face.

“Louis,” Papi breathes helplessly, “Louis.”

A flurry of movement, and Dega is in his arms, held tightly with one arm while Papi’s other hand smooths down the tangled mass of curls on Dega’s head.

“Why must you always leave?” Dega sniffles. He leans heavily into Papi’s tight, comforting hold, his head resting on his chest. Papi’s heartbeat rings in his ears, only amplifying the feeling of desolation.

Papi blanches. He thinks back on a trembling little boy, always in fear of being hurt for saying something wrong, of Dega’s screaming his name as Papi flees, of a soft _“I don’t want to go home”_.

“No,” he says, “no, no. I didn’t mean to imply – why would you ever think – _no_ , Dega, it’s _us_ , remember? Us, always us.”

“Us,” Dega hiccups, curling up a little in Papi’s arms. 

“Yes, us. I’d never leave you again.”

They stay like that for a few minutes, until Dega calms enough to sit up.

Wiping his still streaming eyes and nose, he breathes deeply, chest still hitching with overwhelming emotion ever so often. His glasses are put back on his nose.

“But you will,” he begins, wiping his hands on his trousers, “you will have to leave me. You still want to go home.” He’s such a pitiful sight that it almost hurts to look at him.

“I want to get out of here,” Papi corrects him gently. “I never said I wanted to go back home. I’d be a searched man in Paris, and I told you I wanted to live a different life, didn’t I?”

Dega looks up at him, brows knit in confusion. 

“But what about your girl? Nenette? She must be waiting…” His lips start to quiver anew.

Papi leans in and kisses him, tasting salty tears and coriander from the seeds that Louis chews to counteract bad breath. They don’t have toothbrushes, after all.

Louis’ hands flail around for a moment, unsure where to put them, and then he wraps them around Papi’s neck, pulling him as close as possible.

When they stop to breathe, tears are once again streaming down Louis’ face, but he smiles, a disarming smile that infects Papi with its brightness. 

Louis leans in and nips at Papi’s lower lip, almost shy, and Papi lets him in, wiping tears from red-flushed cheeks ever so often, not knowing if they are Louis’ or his own.

“If it matters, I think no one in the world has waited for me as much as you have, Louis,” Papi says, kissing Louis’ hairline tenderly. 

“It matters,” Louis mumbles where he has laid his head into the juncture of Papi’s neck and shoulder, calmly breathing in the scent of salt water, clean sweat and straw. “It matters a fucking bunch to me.”

They return to Louis’ hut, kissing for hours and exploring each others’ bodies. When Louis shyly asks if this is considered sex with a man, Papi gathers him up from where he lies spread-eagled on the sleeping mat and hold him close, chuckling and explaining that even though he’s fucking horny, sex will have to wait until after they escaped, because it’s no real fun without lube.

Louis accepts without arguing.

In the end, there is no jumping going on. They find a crevice in the cliffs that they can climb down without much trouble, except for taking short breaks here and there when Louis needs to rest his leg.

Tears of felicity and victory stream down both of their faces when Devil’s Island vanishes behind the horizon, as they are carried onwards by the currents, side by side on the makeshift float, journeying towards a better life. 

Together.

**Author's Note:**

> And thus, this mini-series has come to an end! They finally have their happy ending, without any jumping involved, because they deserve it, goddamnit.  
> I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
